An Unnoticed Change
by AbuUzuShi
Summary: Once again, Shino finds himself returning to a place of melancholy and memory. Yet, a familiar change presents itself to him; the only cost is to fulfill where another had left off. Will the Aburame fall deeper into his downwards spiral, or will this new change finally give him the means to escape his past? (Rated M for future violence, and no pairings planned as of yet. R&R)
1. Chapter 1

Aburame Shino was not one to show emotion often. In fact, he was not one to speak much at all, especially the days preceding the war. He was the rock, the pillar, the anchor. The one who never showed his weakness, his distaste, for the better of everyone involved. It was through this skewed sense of courtesy to his comrades that he had begun to neglect almost all social normalities. He would not attend Kiba's obnoxious parties, or "Dog Nights", as his rambunctious friend would call them. He would avoid his regular meetings with his former sensei, Yuhi Kurenai, for which they would inform the other of current happening between each other's lives. He would even decline Shikamaru's challenges to their monthly tradition of shogi (for which he was about to even the score to fifty wins and fifty losses).

Aburame Shino had never really made himself, or his feelings, apparent. Yet, there was always one person, one desolate soul, who he knew he could trust with all of his woes, his aspirations, and his affections. His guilt for having subconsciously choosing such an already burdened soul had bit into him deeply, yet he could not stray from her caring nature, her bright smile. Even his colonies, who usually had a hard time agreeing on anything, approved of her reassuring presence.

Aburame Shino, veteran and hero of the Fourth Shinobi World War, keeper of every species of Kikaichu, bearer of harmony and empathy, was lost. He had never once been so aimless and insecure in his life. Not even when he had been proven incapable in protecting his comrades in the early days of his former team's existence. For at least then, he had something to work towards, something to amend. Now, when all the dust had settled, and everything was right with the world, the man felt so, ironically, empty.

'Why, you ask?' Aburame Shino might've prompted himself, had he not been entranced in his melancholic revere. The answer, while impossibly wounding, was blindingly simple. He was lost, because he had lost his closest friend, he had lost his confidant and his joy. He had lost something, someone, too precious to ever replace. He had lost his imouto.

Aburame Shino had lost Hinata.

The thought of such a thing stung more than any Kamizuru bee ever could. Hyuuga Hinata had been his closest friend and most precious person during their time together as Team Eight. She was the one that kept Kiba and himself from each other's throats many times, mended his wounds when his kikai could not, and protected him with a fury of a tailed beast. Hinata was someone he wished to repay tenfold for her selfless acts, yet never had the opportunity to. And here he was, unwittingly adopting one of his past sensei's old habits by sitting across from the lavender monolith of Konoha's memorial stone, his tinted spectacles reflecting the soft light of the morning sunrise. His eternally obscured eyes repeating their tireless vigil over the twelve inch stretch of stone, engraved simply with 'Hyuuga Hinata'.

He had been like this for the past four hours, letting nothing leave his lips, letting not a single muscle slip. He had nothing to attend to this day. His clan was back on track with the Kikaichu culturing and breeding, his leave had two more days left, and his research had come to an abrupt dead end. So, he sat... And sat... Keeping a silent watch over her memory with a steady breath and a subdued mind.

It was only when his Bikōchū, Kikaichu specifically designed for tracking and chakra sensory, relayed information of another presence that Shino's thoughts began to drift from her. A moment later, his own keen sensory abilities felt the presence of a suppressed chakra. Being a sensory ninja meant that one would be able to notice the majority of individual chakra signatures and memorize one from another, from the slightest detail. The eighteen year old let an inaudible sigh escape his lips when he recognized the owner of said chakra a moment too late.

"I thought I'd find you here, Shino." A laid back voice said, confirming the insect user's earlier analysis. Giving no response, Shino merely sat in his meditative stance, exercising complete control over his body. He heard a soft sigh from behind him as his visitor slumped his shoulders a bit more than normal. Narrowing his eyes for a moment, Shino dropped his gaze from the engraving, yet not betraying a single emotion to his trespasser.

"I know you felt my chakra before I even arrived, Shino. You should've known I was coming to speak with you." The voice, while concerned, still held an air of tiredness. Giving another sigh, the man stood a respectful distance away from one of the shinobi he had watch grow before his eyes, and procured something from his pouch. It was mere child's play for Shino to recognize the sound of a book being opened, and it only seemed to fuel his growing sense of frustration. Silence fell between the two Konoha shinobi, and only the soft breeze of morning and the singing of birds made a sound.

A minute passed, then two, the ten. Before long, the man behind him snapped his book shut and placed it back into his pouch. "Still not talking, ne?" The voice questioned, with a levity that saw to irritate Shino only more, yet the young man locked that away quickly. Seeing how the man would not leave without at least some conversation, Shino relented.

"Hokage-sama..." His voice was deep, yet dull. Smooth, yet empty. The Aburame could not think well beyond that as he touched a spot of his coat, feeling the firm shape of his last possession of hers.

The cyclopian ninja looked on at the Aburame with a sense of knowing pity, and cold acceptance. He had known that history would repeat itself, and he had hoped against all hope that his mistakes would never manifest into one of his pupils. Yet, he had been well acquainted with fate's cruel pattern, and it was only a matter of time when another like himself would emerge from the 'Konoha Twelve'. He had initially expected Sasuke, having already foreseen the Uchiha's regret at the death of his elder brother. However, after his student's betrayal, his concerns had fallen on to his other students, Sakura and Naruto.

Those fears, thankfully, were dashed away when he witnessed his blond charge rise to the challenge time and time again, making leaps and bounds in his career as a ninja. And with his success, Sakura was soon to follow, both bathed in a light of hope and progress. Even throughout the trials of their time as Team Seven, Kakashi was beginning to build hope for the new generation like never before. Perhaps they wouldn't be cursed like his generation was, perhaps they would be the first generation to be free of such an oppressive anguish.

With only one casualty to the Konoha Twelve, and Sasuke's return to the Hidden Leaf (although he remained a wanderer of the nations), Kakashi was almost certain that his fears were unprecedented. He would be able to foster and protect such fulfilling lives as they lived and loved with each other. This gave Kakashi a certain sense of relief, knowing that his anguish would never be held again. And, for a while, he was right…

Until the day Hyuuga Hinata was declared Killed in Action on a mission to flush out a splinter faction of the Hidden Sound, buying time with reckless abandon to ensure the lives of her team. Such recklessness was quite predictable to Kakashi, who had always seen Hinata as someone to willingly put everyone else before herself, never asking or expecting anything in return. So when the lives of her old teammates and teacher were on the line, Hinata gladly chose to take multiple, fatal wounds meant for the other three shinobi with her.

With the most recent death of the 'Konoha Twelve' coming so soon, Kakashi's seemingly unreasonable fears came back in full force. He was worried his two former students would falter, yet what he was met with made his heart twist in disdain. Naruto barely had a chance to mourn the late Hyuuga heir, his attention swept to the almost... relieved... demeanor of Haruno Sakura. She had swiftly initiated intimacy between herself and the Uzumaki the day of Hinata's funeral. 'Perhaps it was to distract and comfort Naruto in a desperate time?' Kakashi would try to reason, but he knew that was not Sakura's entire intention. She not only wanted victory over her rival, she wanted complete domination over her competition. The gray haired Hokage tried his damnedest to believe in his own lies, but a shinobi of his caliber could never turn away from the known truth.

Shaking his head, Kakashi turned his attention back to the man in front of him, the object of his fears. It was obvious to him that Shino had taken Hinata's death the hardest of all. Not even Kurenai, the one who had practically adopted the young Hyuuga as her own, could match the Aburame's desolation. Perhaps it was because of her son, and the fact that she needed to be strong for him, but even Kurenai had learned to cope and... Move on. Everyone had, rather quickly, moved on from Hinata's death, even Kiba, her overtly protective teammate, had accepted her fate within a few months of mourning.

Everyone but Aburame Shino.

"You know" The Hokage started, adjusting his arms behind his official robes. "You remind me a lot of myself when I was younger. Sure there are some differences between you and my past self, but we share something very precious, and equally damning... Don't we, Shino-kun?" Kakashi said, raising his one revealed eyebrow.

A short gasp of shock escaped the usually reserved Aburame, and he felt as if a ghost had passed right through him. Before he could stop himself, Shino spoke. "Hokage-sama." He began, clenching his fists to the point of his nails drawing blood. "Your company is welcome, as is your council," He gave pause, expertly controlling his whirlwind of emotions. "But your overly familiar address is not. Please, refrain from using such language towards me in the future..." Shino trailed off, his eyes resting yet again on the elegant characters of his closest friend's memorial.

Such a blatant show of disrespect would normally elicit some ire from the cyclopian Kage, yet Kakashi had understood what he had done. "That is what she used to call you, wasn't it? She was the only one who ever addressed you so personally, I assume?" He questioned, drowning the guilt he felt in his heart with a sense of duty.

"Understand this, Hokage-sama," Shino began, clenching his jaw to fight his growing sense of irrational anger. "I understand and respect your duty as Hokage, so do not perceive my detriment incorrectly." Kakashi's single eye widened as his eyebrow rose high upon his forehead, watching as the darkly clothed Aburame rose from his position. "But it is not the place of a Kage to pry into the personal happenings and mannerisms of those they protect." Shino's voice held iron, never faltering in its bass. "Why am I stating such an obvious and miniscule fact to you? Because I am now in an understanding that you have forgotten the place of the Hokage."

Kakashi held his gaze to the expressionless lenses of the Aburame's glasses, watching as every physical inclination of the jonin had relayed only indifference, but it was his words that betrayed his disposition. Shifting his singular gaze to the rustling trees, the robed Hokage sighed tiredly, for the countless time. "Ma, ma Shino. I have never been so eloquently been told to shut up until this point." A small hint of a smile crinkled the corner of his ever obscuring mask, his attempt at humor barely registering in the Aburame's mind. Kakashi had finally realized why, and how, Hiruzen had been able to so who heartedly love and tolerate the village, and its particulars.

The thought of a small blur of rambunctious orange wreaking havoc on the citizens of Konoha made Kakashi sigh in nostalgia. He was well aware of the fact that the Third had suffered a great deal of backlash, and paperwork (for which the thought of made the Hatake grimace), for not strictly punishing the young Uzumaki in his days of grand pranking. But now, as Rokudaime Hokage, he understood, and even emulated the Sarutobi's demeanor.

Shoving those thoughts away, Kakashi brought his attention back to the still figure before him. Despite his overly elaborate dialect, and disrespectful (yet understandable) behavior, Aburame Shino was correct. It was not his job to pry into the personal feelings and miseries of his charges, not as the Hokage, at least. However, he was the Hokage first, and a sensei second. His duty to the village superseded any of his desire to pull his former student from his growing darkness, and he had not come to the Aburame to do so.

No, he was here on business.

Locking his eye with the lenses of the insect user, Kakashi produced a small, unassuming scroll from within his robes, presenting it to the towering figure in front of him. It was not customary for the Hokage to personally deliver his own mail, but such sensitive information, and such volatile situations, required a more direct administration. "Perhaps, then, you would be more pleased with me conducting my more direct duties…" Kakashi fell back in his lethargic drawl, feeling the previous hostility fade from the other nin.

"You have received… a summons. One I am sure you are familiar with." Kakashi paused a bit, remembering what his reports from Tsunade's reports. "You know the old saying, third times the charm!" His eye crinkled in a happy squint, his voice oddly jovial for the situation. Waving two fingers in a gesture of peace, the Hokage disappeared in a swirl of dancing leaves, leaving dark lenses to peer at the little scroll laying in the grass. Later, when the dark canvas of the summer's night stretched across the sky, a stark giant stood at the entrance of a dull, unassuming building. A single, fluttering streetlamp illuminating the lone figure, clad in hood and cloak, with a single, small scroll clutched in his clenched fist.

Shino's eyes narrowed behind his goggles. Even as he could barely make out his surroundings, he was guided by his keen hearing, and loyal kikachu. Once again, he found himself returning to a place he had vowed to never step foot in, merely a hesitant step away from breaking the door's threshold. Three times he had stood in this very spot, only twice before with a scroll exactly the same as the one he presently held. Three times, he had turned away from this wretched, shadowy doorway, once in loss, once in anger, and once in shame. Furrowing a thin brow, Aburame Shino, Champion of life and nature, made his choice.

He would not turn away a fourth time.

It would not be until another full two months until the giant Aburame stepped outside that wretched, plain door. Yet, he was not surprised to find that not a single thing had changed since his disappearance. 'Perhaps, with the exception of the abrasiveness of the sun's blazing light.' He thought, bitterly. Not a single one of his comrades had questioned about his whereabouts, when he was sure only to inform his father of his impending absence. Not a single one of his peers had seemed to notice his vacancy, not a single one cared.

 _'Hinata would have cared…'_

The thought had him softly cringing in a swirl of negativity. However, he would not let that deter him. The weight of a single object within his inner jacket, and the slight sting on his left shoulder, reminded him of the changes to come. Changes that made friends a distraction, comrades, a nuisance. Blinking away his thoughts, Shino stalked the streets of Konoha. One last stroll, to remember his old life. To relive the countless days of being unnoticed, and looked upon with disgust. Then, he would begin a new chapter of his life.

A new life within the organization of the Konoha ANBU, Black ops division, Squad 8, identification number 585196.


	2. Chapter 2

_The distinct howl of metal shearing through air pierced the silence of the forest, forcing a sprinting figure into evasive action. Rolling away from the projectile's path, the spectacled teen flung a chakra coated blade at the offending kunai's owner, catching the grey clad nin's forearm. Ignoring the yelp of surprise, the hooded figure dashed forward, pressing his advance on his now wounded enemy._

 _There was no choice for the Oto chuunin but to hastily draw the kunai embedded in her arm to deflect the quick strike from her opponent. Her panic was accentuated by her sloppy attempts at blocking the enemy's attacks, and her erratic breathing. Needless to say, this was not what she had been expecting from an Aburame clansmen. Most of their kind preferred to use melee as a last defense, rather than a direct action._

 _Dodging a quick jab to her throat, the black haired kunoichi regained her wits. She flexed the mess of flesh and blades that was her right hand, swinging at the Aburame in a wide, deadly arc. Her frustration at not feeling hot blood on her hand was evident when her attack was met with empty air rather than flesh, and it took all of her month long experience on the front lines to avoid the sudden, and surprising, kick from behind. 'How did he…?' Turning, her unnatural eyes saw through the darkness, shining with a malicious hunger of a cornered animal._

 _"I" She began, her voice thick with animosity. "Have not come this far, survived all of those experiments" Her bladed hand flexed under the moonlight, "Passed all of those tests" Her left hand gripped tightly around the blooded kunai, "And killed all of those damn Taki nin, just to be thwarted by you!" Her scream echoed within the forest, the once lively scenery frightened away by the months of fighting in the area, leaving only silence._

 _Her opponent merely watched her from beneath his coverings, his round spectacles gleaming under the moonlit night. He gave no motion to retort, his stillness almost appearing to be aloofness. However eerie his silence was, he only succeeded in angering the Oto chuunin._

 _Gritting her unnatural fangs, the woman lashed out with her mutated hand, or rather, claw. The glistening blades of her augmented arm shone in the wan light of the moon, sending fiery sparks flying as it struck the goggled man's own blade. Her slitted eyes widened in her haste to stab at the Aburame's core, her blood rushing with adrenaline as she lashed out. However, her wrist was halted by the pale hand of her enemy, and she was caught in a short grapple before a distinctive_ _ **SNAP**_ _came from below._

 _Her scream was of utter pain and agony. The Oto nin could only afford enough time to glance at the crushed form of her leg, sundered by the Aburame's precise footwork. The distraction had cost her, and her yellow eyes were met by the sight of a rapidly approaching fist, before her vision was visited by the moon's pale glow._

 _It was a moment of serenity, her adrenaline briefly ceasing the pain of her broken leg. However, said serenity crashed when she met the ground, her wound erupting in a bloom of pain unlike anything she had experienced before. Darkness crept at the corners of her vision, even the massive body of the moon was indiscernible from the blur of her sight. The pain was too much to see, but she refused to lose consciousness. She would live, she would_ _ **survive**_ _._

 _It took all of her willpower not to give in to the pain, and all of her devotion to even make an attempt to rise against her foe. But when she was met with another wall of screaming agony, the grey camouflaged kunoichi collapsed into a heap once more. It took only a second more for the bright light of the moon to be stolen from her sight, instead replaced by the tower of her hooded opponent._

 _She had heard tales, many interpretations of the Shinigami. From the white robed Oni of Souls, to the onyx scaled Daemon of Styx. But, even in the tremors of her flight instinct, the mutant could only comprehend one image of the God of Death. The image which burned into her soul as two gleaming lenses peered down on her, from beneath a veil of darkness._

 _In her hysteria, the Sound ninja gaped at the Aburame, feebly sputtering incoherent strings of unintelligible babblings. Yet, she could not move from her prone position, her body refusing to move a single inch. It seemed like an eternity, fearfully peering up to the looming orbs of the Aburame's goggles. The night had fallen quiet again, yet the sounds of nocturnal life were still absent. It was as if the entire world watched in bated breath, for this very moment._

 _The pressure was suffocating, the young woman never realizing it was the intense amount of killing intent being released from her opponent that had brought her to this near catatonic state. But, after so long, a glimmer of hope sprung from beneath her despair. Perhaps the Konoha nin would spare her? They always were the softest of the five major nations. However, it seemed that thought was premature, for the Aburame never intended mercy upon his enemy._

 _Quite the opposite, actually._

 _It was at that moment that a crucial thought invaded the Oto shinobi's mind, one that she was too fraught with fear to ask before. 'Where are his bugs?'_

 _A moment later, and she could finally register the thousand burning blades of the Aburame's newest accomplishment. The crimson beetles had swarmed her body, flaying her skin like searing knives. Her scream was muffled by a cloud of crimson insects, flooding her mouth and tearing into the soft flesh of her esophagus, invading her entrails like a seeping flow of burning venom._

 _Her whole form writhed in shock, too overridden in an unmatched agony for her to even think clearly. Her lungs filled with a bloody ichor, making her coughing fits horrendously abrasive, as if they were shredding from the effort to even breathe. Holes and gashes streamed with rivers of those evil creatures, opened both from the outside and from within._

 _After a while, the pain began to cease, and she felt her very essence leeching away. She looked from the churning turmoil of her body to the enemy who had so ruthlessly dispatched her. And there he was, unmoving as he observed her from above. It was almost as if he was surveying her demise like she wasn't even a person. Like this was some sort of test, experiment. It was just as she had experienced from her own master, but far worse. That was the last thought that ran though her mind, before her vision turned to red, then to inky blackness. Her eyes consumed by the carnivorous insects._

 _Then, she was no more._

Shino awoke with a gasp, his body heaving in strained breaths. Out of pure habit, he reached out to grab his shaded glasses, finding them exactly where he had placed them for the last eighteen years. Sliding the pair of metal rimmed glasses over his nose, Shino noted how warm he was, an uncommon feeling to the Aburame. The many tangled tunnels within the man's body helped his kikachu regulated his body temperature, as with all Aburame. It took a great amount of vigorous activity, or a great amount of stress to bring his body temperature so feverish.

Suppressing a tired growl, the eighteen year old flung his wool blanket to the side of his sleeping mat. He stared up at his ceiling, a sight he was all too familiar with, yet, now it seemed alien to him. Memories of idle reminiscing, subdued meditation, and even a single slumber party he had once hosted for his teammates, drifted into his mind. Each memory found himself staring up at the same, wooden lattice, draped with winy growths of medicinal and spiritual value. Every time, a slight niggling of doubt, or of pain, thrummed in his chest as he thought of his comrades.

Shino frowned slightly, an expression he had long become prone to, as even in the days where Team Eight was closest, he would not be sure if they could consider him to be someone beyond a comrade. His discussion with Torune, before his sealing, charged into the forefront of his mind. Torune had once been his greatest and only friend, teaching him techniques and lore far before he was meant to learn. However, it was the fact that his older cousin was not only willing, but genuinely pleased to speak and play and train with him. This had given young Aburame Shino a massive amount of admiration for him.

It was also that same friendship that caused Shino the sorrow he felt when Shimura Danzo had come to the Aburame clan, eager to exercise his nigh unlimited power of recruitment. The secretive insect users of the Aburame had not put forth a substantial amount of recruits for the ROOT, or the shinobi village at large, since the plague that had wracked their clan at the end of the Third Great War. Of course, this massed weakening of the Aburame had been hidden, but the effects of such a crippling blight had been seen not just within their compound, but among the council of Konoha's clans.

It was they, the council of clans, which brought the Aburame's considerable voice to heel. While allies and comrades, most of the clans of Konoha were ever power hungry, and the constant neutrality and unwavering logic of the insect-nin leaders had always made them the last, and usually most important, vote in the four noble clans during a vital convening. Countless times, they had balanced the scales of power between fractious and ever shifting divides in the shinobi council, putting a swift end to any one clan too ambitious for their own good.  
Yet, when their numbers had waned, so too did their political sway. Their status as one of Konoha's four noble clans had disappeared in all but name, due to their political rivals in the Uchiha, Akimichi, and Hyuuga clans desire to end the Aburame's intrusions. They reasoned, since the clan had lacked a sufficient number of able bodied shinobi, the Aburame clan should have their Noble Clan vote diminished to a mere Fledgling Clan vote. It was all Sarutobi Hiruzen could do to mitigate the political shifts against the Aburame, but even the Hokage could not deny the other clans for the sake of one.  
It was a sentiment of the greater good, the Will of Fire, which Hiruzen appealed to. It kept the Aburame from inflicting rash judgment upon the village, but just that. The withdrawn and concealed clan retracted further within itself, only trusting in their closest allies outside of their own clan. Those allies were few, and their strength lacking compared to the other entities of Konoha, but there was one ally they had gained from this debacle; ANBU

Or more specifically, ROOT.

Shino's frown deepened further as the shadowy organization entered his mind. Had Torune not intervened when the ROOT leader had come… would it have for been the better? Sighing, Shino rose from his mat, neatly folded his blanket and grabbed a towel. No one would be at the bathhouse at this early hour, when the carabid beetles and shyer lepidopterans still roamed and thrived in the dark.  
Sliding the wooden panel of his door aside, Shino soundlessly traversed the clan compound, passing his father's chambers as he left his home and stepped out to the gardens of his compound. He gave a slight pause to admire the moonlight, and how it softly illuminated the myriad of moths and night flowers. The moon was full, and the garden was a perfect image of soft, pure serenity.

The scent of lavender pedals ghosted under his nose, just barely registered in his mind as he approached the flat, roofless building of the bathhouse. As his pale form slipped into the moonlit pool, Shino released his kikaichu, letting their restless forms skitter and swim in the scented water. For once in a very long time, he let his mind truly relax, his thoughts dulling into a mesmerized slur of tired bliss. The constant drills of the ANBU training, coupled with his already weary condition, put the heir's mental and physical fortitude to a vicious test.

A small tug of amusement ghosted on the edge of Shino's lips, the thought that he had, yet again, surpassed his peers stoking his pride. This, however, was short-lived. The all too familiar thought of his achievements being overshadowed by some ludicrous, spontaneous, and outright stupid event crossed his mind. Always, his successes had either been sidelined or even derailed by allies and enemies alike. Like the time of his first chuunin exams, and the whole military invasion that followed his match. _An. Invasion._

Or, his accomplishments were outright ignored by his comrades, per nothing unusual manifested. Thinking back, Shino remembered that on one particular occasion at a reunion of their rookie teams, that he had been overshadowed and outright ignored at every turn. He had honestly been looking forward to that particular event, as he had been away on a series of consecutive solo missions for quite a long while, and had not seen any of his old comrades. At the end of the night, his frustration had festered to the point where he had considered the use of his kikaichu as a viable way to get any sort of recognition beyond a "Hello, Shino-kun", or "Oi, Bug boy, it's been a while" from two out of the other eleven members of their party.

It was when Naruto, the one who so flippantly preached about inclusiveness and camaraderie at all times, had failed to notice the new Jounin's presence until the very end of the night. That, had enraged the Aburame to illogical levels of emotion. There is a reason why Aburame uniformly keep a calm and professional composure, and why they should never be trifled with. They are in harmony with their Kikaichu allies, complete symbiosis. When the host grows frustrated, the swarm grows restless. When the vessel turns to anger, the hoard turns to frenzy.

He was honestly surprised when it had been Lee, of all people, to have taken the time to look at the insect user's attire, noticing the dark collar of a Jounin flak jacket under Shino's hood. The ever exuberant taijutsu expert made a… rather strange… commotion on Shino's behalf, raining congratulations and praises of 'youth' to him, in full view of the other members of their celebration.

He felt his muscles loosen, and his mind drift on the moonlight. The frustrating memories of silent condemnation faded to a dull buzz of relaxation, and his heartbeat slowed to the rhythm of the gentle swirl of the pool around him. It was all Shino could do not to drift off into sleep, but rather, a dull state of meditation. He felt the connection between himself and his beetles, whom had been exploring the water, adapting to the new environment. He felt the chakra he had released into the water, put there to coax his kikaichu to leave the host. He could feel the morning air around him, and how the many nocturnal creatures were preparing to rest for the coming day.

His brow furrowed ever so slightly, as his feeling stretched to the grass beyond the tiled wooden floors of the bath. He could feel the insects and critters that scurried and hunted within the short sea of green blades, and the arachnids that wove their nets and homes in the trees above. Moths fluttered in the cool air, letting the soft breeze of the morning carry them to their nests. Centipedes sifted through the dirt and gravel, seeking their next meal or reprieve.

The feeling was peaceful, yet invigorating; Exciting, yet serine. It had been some time since he had last had the opportunity to fully connect with nature, and tune out all of the conflict and business of a shinobi life. It was not an easy life, and there was always too much work to be done. Such is the way of the Elemental Nations, such is the way of the shinobi…

 _A single twitch of annoyance was all Shino would allow as he observed one of his teammates foolishly charge for their target. The plain masked individual leapt, his standard issue tanto in mid-swing as he attempted to decapitate the instructor. Shino did not have to look when he heard the crack of bone to assume he was down one team member._

 _From his vantage point, Shino could already see the enemy team capitalizing on the fool's haste. He felt their signatures, although impressively suppressed, mobilize to the perfect position to take on the target. One on the street corner, behind a cloth divider; another on the rooftop two building down, across the street. The last was a bit harder to pinpoint, something he had anticipated since their last encounter. This shinobi specialized in defensive genjutsu, and was a master at evasion._

 _Shino grinned a ghost of a smile behind his plain mask, it felt nice to be someone's perfect counter._

 _His kikaichu had no trouble locating this one, she had placed herself closest to the target, disguised as one of the porcelain mannequins acting as civilian bystanders. 'To think this kunoichi could manipulate such strong genjutsu, to afford the risk of using such a noticeable jutsu as substitution… Most impressive.' He noted how their formation formed a spearhead assault with the genjutsu user at the head… not, it was a reverse pincer movement. Once the other two spring into action, she would wait for a reaction, and take the instructor by surprise._

 _It was interesting, working with an actually competent Yamanaka. It made for a rather silent communication, and a perfect mode of stealth. He had no need to signal and risk revealing his position to either his target or his enemies, just to relay info, as vital as it may be, to his allies. The mind link was not intrusive in the way that it would read every thought that crossed the subject's mind, but rather those they would actively send to the caster of the jutsu, making for an astonishingly efficient transfer of information._

 _He felt the link close, informing the Aburame of his teammate's acknowledgment. They needed to act fast, before the target was taken out by the enemy. Scattering his kikaichu, Shino began to set traps and rally points for his insects to wait, effectively increasing their team's number from an unfortunate two to a competent six._

 _Things were about to get a lot faster…_


End file.
